Allowing pets in Riverside rental properties has become one of the most debated topics among Riverside landlords, particularly in pet-friendly Riverside communities. While many Riverside property owners remain hesitant due to concerns about potential damage, the financial and practical benefits of accepting pet-owning tenants in Riverside often far outweigh the risks. This comprehensive guide will explore every aspect of pet-friendly Riverside rental policies, helping you make an informed decision that maximizes your Riverside investment returns while minimizing potential complications.
The Riverside pet rental market represents a significant opportunity for Riverside landlords. With over half of American households owning pets, and this percentage even higher in California markets like Riverside, restricting pets can severely limit your Riverside tenant pool. According to recent Riverside market research, pet-owning households often demonstrate higher disposable income levels, greater housing stability, and longer-term rental commitments compared to non-pet households. This detailed analysis will provide you with the knowledge and strategies needed to successfully navigate the Riverside pet rental landscape while protecting your Riverside investment.
The economic impact of pet-friendly policies extends beyond simple revenue generation in the Riverside market. Riverside properties that welcome pets often experience reduced marketing costs, shorter vacancy periods, and enhanced property values in pet-friendly Riverside neighborhoods. Understanding these Riverside market dynamics is crucial for making informed decisions about your Riverside rental property's pet policy.
The Pros of Allowing a Pet in Your Riverside Rental Property:
I completely understand why most landlords feel uncomfortable with allowing pets in their rental property. Which is why I think it would be good to talk about the positives of what this actually does, when you do allow pets, especially in the Riverside area.
Substantial Additional Revenue Opportunities for Riverside Rental Properties
The most compelling reason to allow pets in your Riverside rental property is the substantial additional revenue potential that extends far beyond simple pet fees in the Riverside market. Beyond the base rent, pet-owning tenants in Riverside represent multiple income opportunities that can significantly boost your annual returns while creating sustainable competitive advantages in the competitive Riverside rental market. We recommend you charge around $30 for every single pet allowed inside the property - with a maximum of at least two or three pets - depending on how comfortable you are with having pets in your property.
Larger Tenant Pool and Riverside Market Advantages
Current Riverside market data indicates that Riverside's rental market includes a substantial population of pet owners – over 57% of potential Riverside tenants according to recent surveys. By restricting pets in your Riverside rental property, you're immediately eliminating more than half of your potential Riverside applicant pool, leading to longer vacancy periods, reduced rental income, and limited negotiating power with prospective Riverside tenants.
This expanded Riverside tenant pool provides additional benefits beyond simple numbers. Pet owners in Riverside often represent stable, responsible tenants who view their Riverside rental as a long-term home rather than a temporary stopover. They typically demonstrate higher income levels, as pet ownership requires ongoing financial commitment for food, veterinary care, supplies, and emergency medical expenses. This financial responsibility often translates into reliable rent payment and Riverside property care.
Higher Tenant Satisfaction
Allowing pets creates a profound psychological sense of "home" that extends far beyond the physical space and rental agreement terms for Riverside tenants. When Riverside tenants can bring their beloved companions, they develop stronger emotional connections to the Riverside property, viewing it as a permanent residence rather than temporary accommodation. To put it further into perspective, allowing pets can also make tenants happier. This emotional investment translates directly into better Riverside property care, increased maintenance reporting, longer tenancies, and reduced turnover costs for Riverside landlords.
Pet-owning tenants in Riverside consistently report significantly higher satisfaction levels when their complete housing needs are accommodated without compromise. This satisfaction stems from multiple factors: the freedom to maintain their desired lifestyle without choosing between housing and pets, reduced stress from not having to hide pets or find alternative arrangements, and the comfort of knowing their Riverside housing situation supports their family structure including animal companions.
Long-Term Tenant Retention
Tenant retention represents one of the most significant cost-saving opportunities in Riverside rental property management, with implications that compound dramatically over time. The average cost of tenant turnover in the Riverside market – including marketing expenses, professional cleaning, minor repairs, screening costs, and vacancy periods – can easily exceed $3,000-5,000 per occurrence, not including lost Riverside rental income during vacancy periods.
Pet-owning tenants in Riverside demonstrate measurably longer tenancy periods, often staying 2-4 years compared to the 12-18 month average for other Riverside tenant categories. This extended retention period provides multiple compounding financial benefits for Riverside landlords: consistent rental income without interruption, dramatically reduced turnover costs, fewer vacancy periods, decreased property management workload, and reduced wear from tenant transitions.
Faster Leasing + Lower Vacancy Rates
The competitive advantage of offering pet-friendly Riverside rentals cannot be overstated in today's market. In areas where many Riverside landlords restrict pets, your Riverside property becomes significantly more attractive to quality tenants who might otherwise look elsewhere or consider purchasing homes in Riverside to accommodate their pets. This positioning advantage allows you to be more selective in Riverside tenant screening while potentially commanding premium rents and shorter marketing periods.
Furthermore, pet-friendly Riverside properties often generate faster leasing periods as well as lower the vacancy rate of the home by approximately 10 days. To paint an accurate picture, this looks like approximately ~ $750 of extra income just off of allowing pets inside of the property.
The Cons of Allowing a Pet in Your Riverside Rental Property:
Property Damage
While property damage remains the primary concern for Riverside landlords considering pet policies, understanding the actual statistical risks versus perceived risks is crucial for making informed business decisions. Comprehensive industry data suggests that pet-related damage is generally less severe and less costly than damage from problematic human tenants, particularly when appropriate screening and prevention measures are implemented for Riverside rental properties.
Common pet-related damages in Riverside rental properties include:
Scratched flooring surfaces, particularly hardwood, laminate, or vinyl planking
Pet odors that may require professional cleaning treatments or carpet replacement,
Occasional carpet or upholstery stains from accidents,
Minor wall damage from scratching or chewing, and
Potential yard damage from digging or waste accumulation.
Noise Complaints
Noise complaints are a more common type of con when it comes to allowing a pet inside of your rental property. Most of the time, this will happen when the neighbors that surround your home have your number and are fed up with the dogs barking.
Unauthorized Pets
Unauthorized pets can be a major problem when it comes to being a landlord in general. The best way to actually deter this from happening is by allowing pets in the home in the first place. That way, the tenant has no reason to hide them from you, and feels more comfortable with letting you know about them wanting to acquire an additional pet.
Breed and Size Concerns
Breed and size concerns are another large concern for a lot of landlords in the Riverside area. It is generally a recommendation to never allow larger breeds or the more violent breeds inside of a rental property. This is because of the next con that we are about to talk about, liability issues.
Liability for Bites and Injuries
Bites and injuries don’t usually happen, but when they do, it is a majority of the time from a larger dog breed. The smaller breeds (except for things like Chihuahuas) are less likely to bite, and provide less liability in general, which is why it is always common practice to only allow smaller animals within the property
Riverside, CA Law on Allowing Pets in Rentals:
There are a lot of different laws that you have to follow when you consider allowing pets in your Riverside rental property. Below is a list of every law you will need to fully understand before you allow a pet in your rental property. Given the fact that Riverside is in the state of California, an extremely tenant friendly state, you need to always be on the lookout for new laws that might affect your landlord abilities.
Laws You Need to Follow:
AB 12 is a security deposit law that limits the amount that you can charge for a security deposit in any rental property. This is the exact wordage that the Assembly Bill states:
“This bill would, beginning July 1, 2024, instead prohibit a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to one month’s rent, regardless of whether the residential property is unfurnished or furnished, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. The bill, unless the prospective tenant is a service member, as defined, would prohibit a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property in an amount or value in excess of 2 months’ rent, in addition to any rent for the first month, if the landlord (1) is a natural person or a limited liability corporation in which all members are natural persons and (2) owns no more than 2 residential rental properties that collectively include no more than 4 dwelling units offered for rent.”
So, what does this mean for landlords? Well, you are still able to charge a “pet deposit” as long as you qualify for the final portion of the law. Meaning, you must own 2 or less residential rental properties that include no more than 4 dwelling units offered for rent. You however, must be a natural person, meaning that the house is in your name, or have the house in an LLC, which is also in your name (duh). If you do not qualify for this exemption, then you need to follow the law to its full extent, and can only charge for one month’s security deposit, regardless of whether or not it is furnished.
Pet Rent or Fees
You are unable to charge additional fees or rent for pets according to California law. However, there is a slight loophole to this law and a very great way to add additional revenue for your property. You can charge what is known as a “pet fee", as long as it’s counted as rent itself. For example, if you had two small cats moving into the property, you would charge an additional $35 per pet. Instead of actually charging a separate amount to the tenant, you would instead raise their rent by $70.
Return of Deposit
Landlord must return security deposits within 21 days of the designated day of move out. it is highly recommended that landlords conduct a thorough move out inspection on the day of move out either with or without the tenant. This way you have as much time as possible in order to conduct repairs or any other needed things that must be deducted off of the security deposit. Remember, move out inspections must have every single repair notated within the inspection. Also, according to the recent Assembly Bill (AB2801), landlords must take photos when tenants move out (before doing any work), after completing repairs or cleaning, and at move-in for new leases. If you deduct money from the security deposit, you must provide all relevant photos along with an itemized statement, which can be sent by mail, email, flash drive, or website link. The law also confirms that tenants can only be charged reasonable amounts to restore the property to its original condition and prohibits unnecessary professional cleaning fees.
Emotional Service Animal legislation
Emotional service animals are seen as their own entity, and therefore cannot be charged an additional security deposit or pet fee. According to California legislature, you are unable to do anything in regards to screening, which means that any breed can be a service animal, if if it has the proper certifications. According to the California government, landlords can only deny ESA (emotional service animals) "After a tenant or resident has shown that they have a disability-related need for an ESA, the housing provider may deny the request only in the following, limited circumstances: (a) when permitting the ESA would cause an undue financial and administrative burden for the housing provider, (b) when permitting the ESA would constitute a fundamental alteration the housing provider's business, or (c) when the animal constitutes a direct threat to the health or safety of others (i.e., a significant risk of bodily harm) or would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others, and that harm cannot be sufficiently reduced or eliminated by a reasonable accommodation. This determination must be done on a case-by-case basis and must be based on credible and objective evidence, not stereotypes or assumptions.".
How to Mitigate the Cons of Allowing Pets:
I am going to walk you through step by step how to mitigate every single con that has been given. This way, you can realize that it is pretty much a guaranteed additional source of income for you especially in the state of the current economy.
How to Mitigate…
Property Damage
Mitigate property damage by having a detailed and itemized move-in and move-out inspection. As previously mentioned, according to California law, landlords are unable to ask for an additional security deposit fee for any reason, including pets. However, that does not mean that you can use the security deposit to repair any damage caused by pets, and again, as long as the security deposit is returned within 21 days, and you have itemized receipts and proof along with those receipts for every single repair made using the security deposit, you can not be sued (well you can but you will win) for disorderly conduct.
Unauthorized Pets
The best way to mitigate this problem is by allowing pets in the first place. Most of the time, tenants who have unauthorized pets only go this route due to the fact that the landlord didn’t allow pets in the first place. However, if this is not the case, you can mitigate this issue by doing one of three things. Either working with the tenant, and charging an additional fee (I would charge more than your usual rate due to the fact that it is an unauthorized pet), by giving the tenant a notice to vacate the premises, or by giving the tenant a notice to cure or quit. I would usually recommend the second option, only because I have had way too many experiences with this type of situation, and most of the time, the reason why it is unauthorized is due to the breed of dog that it is. However, if it is a tenant that you genuinely know and have a relationship with, and they have had no bad experiences with you, I would try to give them the option and the benefit of the doubt.
Breed and Size Concerns
There are a couple of different strategies that you can use in order to mitigate breed and size concerns, as well as a process you can use. First, you need to have a set screening process for any pet that comes through your Riverside rental home, this can be through our recommended vendor, PetScreening.com or any other reputable source that you would like to use. When using this type of screening, it allows you to protect yourself while not risking your home to unauthorized / dangerous pet breeds. The next line of defense would be through yearly inspections as well as having a trusted handyman / contractor to “inspect” the property while they conduct repairs. What I mean by that is letting the repairman know before they enter the property that pets were not allowed, and that if they see any indication of a pet in the home, to let you know. Now, let’s say for example, that your HVAC guy went to go fix a broken A/C, because let’s be honest, this is Riverside, it happens all the time. Now, as the HVAC guy enters the home, he sees a bunch of chew toys and hears a little chihuahua barking in the bathroom. Obviously, he probably would assume that the pet was not an issue, unless he was otherwise informed beforehand. That way he can inform you that there is an unauthorized pet in the property. What do you do when this happens? Well, that leads us back to the previous con that I recently mitigated for you, either get the tenant out the home, the pet out the home, or charge the tenant for the pet itself.
Liability for Bites and Injuries
When it comes to bites and injuries, there is one simple and easy solution that I highly recommend you do. Follow some sort of restricted breed guide that lets you know what breeds are the most dangerous for liability issues. To me, this is the worst part about property management, because I know how loveable these breeds can be (I have a Cane Corso myself), but I also know that not every tenant is a good owner, meaning that not every breed can be allowed in your Riverside rental property.
Best Practices for Landlords in the Riverside Area:
The best practice that a landlord in the Riverside area can do is allow pets with a set of restrictions, guidelines, and rules for the tenant to follow. By doing this, landlords can increase profits, reduce vacancy costs, and keep their tenants in the property for a longer period of time.
Final Thoughts:
In my professional experience over the past few years I have seen people add thousands of dollars in annual income just off of pet fees alone, and personally, I have seen the potential in profit and positive outcomes outweigh the risk associated with allowing pets in a rental property. If you have any question on this subject, or want to schedule a free consultation, click this link
